Cognex Corporation $CGNX Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio decreased its holdings in shares of Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) by 95.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,013 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 80,106 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Cognex were worth $197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cognex by 683.8% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners purchased a new stake in Cognex in the 1st quarter worth about $207,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Cognex by 44.0% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 54,462 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,668,000 after acquiring an additional 16,651 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Cognex during the 1st quarter valued at about $250,000. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cognex by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 26,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 7,700 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark Fennell sold 64,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.05, for a total value of $4,349,734.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $755,184.15. This trade represents a 85.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Darren Marc Long sold 20,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.34, for a total value of $1,343,517.68. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,696.60. This represents a 83.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 224,847 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,098 in the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CGNX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Cognex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Cognex from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $72.00 target price on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Cognex from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of Cognex in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Cognex Price Performance

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $66.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.52 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $64.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.57. Cognex Corporation has a 12 month low of $32.55 and a 12 month high of $72.88.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Cognex had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm had revenue of $268.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognex has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.440 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Cognex Corporation will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.48%.

Cognex Profile

Cognex Corporation is a leading provider of machine vision systems, software, sensors and industrial barcode readers used to automate manufacturing, logistics and distribution processes. The company designs and develops vision-based products that help manufacturers and logistics operators inspect, identify and guide parts, assemblies and packaged goods in real time. Its solutions are applied in a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and general manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio includes stand-alone vision systems, vision sensors and deep learning-based software platforms that enable automated inspection, quality control and traceability.